Monsoon seems to have reversed gear in August, with sustained dry spell in many regions of the country. What's more worrying is that meteorologists in the US are saying there is a 66 percent chance of El Nino developing into a strong event. This means, El Nino's effects could be felt in India too, weakening the monsoon further. Overall, till now, the monsoon rains in India remain in the normal...

KEY TRENDS   • Oxfam India's 2023 India Supplement report on poverty and inequality in India reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Following the pandemic in 2019, the bottom 50 per cent of the population have continued to see their wealth chipped away. By 2020, their income share was estimated to have fallen to only 13 per cent of the national income and have less than 3...

Reuters Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged ripening, winter-planted crops such as wheat in India's fertile northern, central and western plains, exposing thousands of farmers to losses and raising the risk of further food price inflation. Torrential rains on Sunday and Monday lashed Punjab, Haryana parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh state, which account for the bulk of wheat output in India, the world's biggest producer after China, flattening crops and...

Mint India’s rural borrowers and small businesses owners may have easier access to credit with public sector banks (PSBs) planning to increase financing to these segments, after the Union finance ministry urged lenders to improve their credit-deposit ratio. The C-D ration indicates how much of a banks' deposit base is being utilized for extending loans. The development may help expedite the revival of the rural economy, which is struggling to reach pre-covid...

- Business Standard India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector grew at a slower pace of 7.6 per cent, in the October-December 2022 quarter, compared to the previous quarter as well as October-December 2021, Business Standard reported, citing data from market research firm NielsenIQ. Price growth has tapered and volumed remain weak. Price growth during the quarter was 7.9 per cent, lower than 9.9 per cent in the previous quarter. FMCG firms were...